Don’t Be A Mileage Monger

When you start training for a marathon, give yourself at least 3 months to build up your mileage. Gradually building up mileage is the best way to avoid an overuse injury. As you build up your mileage, don’t increase your weekly mileage total by more than 10 percent per week. If your goal is to finish the marathon feeling reasonably good, you probably don’t need to run much more than 50 miles a week, total. Once you have reached 40-50 miles, which includes your weekday runs and your weekend long run, you can hold steady at that level of mileage and you will be able to complete the marathon, especially if you build strength with cross-training workouts such as biking, weight lifting, and yoga. Remember that your muscles get stronger during periods of rest, and not every week will be a high-mileage week, which is a good thing.